Nice review and video-tour (as always!) of a very interesting lens.
Just one question: when you talk about VR you mention it to help reduce shutter-speed 3-4 "times" (not "stops")!? 3-4 stops means 8-16 times and that was what your review was saying...
In addition to your praise of the lens, let me add that the next longer alternative, the Nikon VR 80-400mm, is a big step from the VR 70-300mm with respect to weight, size/bulk and price coupled (unfortunately) with an older VR and AF/MF-switch that in no way makes it attractive for the additional 100mm (from 300mm to 400mm) reach. See my review here.
So the VR 70-300 seems to be the best tele-zoom this side of 2000$/€ (!) for the Nikon-system. And an ideal lens for the aspiring FX-photographer. A real bargain!

Addendum: Oh and btw Gordon, you still show macro-capabilities of the VR 18-200mm that must have existed only in your test-lens. This is a little unfair against the other lenses, as the 18-200mm that you can buy off the shelf today only has a fov of approx 9x6cm and is thus much worse than the other lenses in this comparison.

Great shots Phil, especially of the whales - at Kaikoura I presume? I did the same trip and didn't come back with anything nearly as good - even when cropped!

Thomas, yep, it's 3-4 stops. I think it's ok to say 3-4 times slower in the video as it'll be better understood. Remember the videos are watched by a wider audience.

As for the 18-200mm, I don't have one here to retest for the macro. That was the result I got for my sample. I could arguably re-source and retest every single product and may find some different results, but there's only so much time, and if it were a case of me restesting the 18-200mm or producing a new review I think most would prefer the latter!

One thing that seems missing is a tripod collar, i.e. center of mass too far forward, as this lens w/o a collar will cause you to tighten down more on the tripod to ensure it doesn't suddenly tilt forward, not to mention the strain placed on the camera mount.

One minor quibble is that the focusing ring is small in comparison to the zoom ring, would prefer the opposite arrangement.